Question for bass players

Maccattack

I have a 1974 4001 Rickenbacker Bass. Owned it for near o 20 years.

Thing is im not a bass player. I need a bass for my home recordings and I love the sound of the Rick. It has a very warm tone.

You see I have toyed with the idea of selling it for years and years and now that ive gotten more serious about learning guitar (properly) it increasingly seems like the right thing to do.


What im thinking is that i could sell the Rick and buy a cheaper bass then spend the rest on another nice electric.

I know I may regret it someday because ive had the Rick for so long but I weigh up the practical side. I would get more use out of a six string.

The guy who plays bass with me loves the rick and uses it a bit. But he has since bought a Stingray so ricky is being left in the cold at the moment.

Im thinking about a Fender Precision or Jazz. These are pretty good guitars right? and popular. I reckon id get about 2k for the rick. can probably get a Precision for say 5-600. Which would leave a very tidy sum for a new axe.

So do any of you guys have experience with both the Rickenbacker and Fender basses? as i said. i love the sound of the Rick. Can a similar tone be got from a Fender? Is Fender more vesatile in sound?

Karl Hungus

Can we get some pics of the Rick?

Maccattack

Karl Hungus wrote:

Can we get some pics of the Rick?

Why? dont believe me!?

Karl Hungus

No, I just need my fix of guitar porn.

Maccattack

I dont have any full frontals. But Here you can see a bit of flesh. Its in the background of another sex god.

Karl Hungus

I'll give you €200.

Doctor J

I think you're being a bit optimistic on what you'd get for the 4001. I'd say if you got €1500 you'd be about right. There isn't really another bass that sounds like the Ric. You certainly won't get it from a standard Fender (and yes, I have both). You're in MIM Fender budget territory and compared to the Ric, there is no competition. You will regret it.

The Fenders are more comfortable and easier to play but the Ric has the tone. It's unique and fantastic. Save up or get a credit union loan but don't sell the Ric, they're too hard to replace.

Maccattack

really? I was offered 2 grand about a year ago. Probably should have taken it!

What do you mean by 'MIM Fender budget territory '? Whats MIM?

Doctor J

For your bass budget of €5-600 you're looking at Made In Mexico Fenders. Not the worst but not great either.

If you were offered two grand you should have taken it. You could easily get a mint one from the states for less than €1500 including shipping and taxes. Some people just don't know where to look :v:

Maccattack

hmmm. I see.

Couldnt I get a better Fender for about the same price second hand?

Doctor J

Possibly, but not for sure, you'd have to be lucky and stumble on a really great deal. For an extra €200 or so you could get a better bass definitely, but not one that would fill a 4001 sized hole

Ravelleman

The Jazz bass and the p bass are completely different animals to the Ric. Though the jazz is closer to the Ric than the P, they're both pretty far away. Consider the construction of the instruments. The Ric is a neck-through all maple bodied bass with high output pickups. The Fenders are generally alder or ash bodies basses with bolt on maple necks and completely different p'ups.

You could certainly get a very nice Fender Japan P Bass for 600euro shipped and taxed from Ishibashi. Jazz basses would be between 650 and 700euro. Better yet, you could get a Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass for cheap on ebay US if you're willing to wait.

The jazz bass can get pretty growly tones compared to the p bass' thump so personally I'd recommend getting a jazz if you do decide to replace the Ric. :v:

Doctor J

If you're spending €600 on a bass from Japan at least €200 of it will be tax and shipping, which doesn't leave much for the bass. I think you've got to up the budget a bit to really get the best out of a Japanese deal. TBH with a budget of €600 he'd be better off buying from Europe where more of the money will go on the instrument. There is a large second hand market in Germany ripe for tapping. Buying new from Japan or the States doesn't make sense to me when you're capped at €600.

Ravelleman

Take a look at any of the P basses in the 56000Yen bracket. According to my calculations they're all about 620Euro shipped and taxed. They all seem like a good deal to me. The more expensive Japanese P basses have their prices driven up by ash bodies, pick up and bridge covers, and Badass bridges - none of which are necessaries.

http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/web/?wb_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ishibashi.co.jp%2Fwebshop%2Fguitar%2Findex.htm&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2

Doctor J

You might as well buy MIM, because they're about equal.

Maccattack

Well im still very undecided about what to do.

If anything i'll wait til after christmas. Ive thought about this for years. I think I need more time to think. aaaargggghhh.

I like the sound (not literaly, havent heard it besides on Rush albums) of the Geddy Lee bass.

why do you think its worth getting?

ive also been recommended the Schecter Sillhoutte. know them?

Doctor J

The Fender Jazz Aerodyne bass is pretty swish, has a P and J pickup setup if you're torn between the two. I have a Schecter guitar, they're very nice but, in my experience, need some fretwork, so take that into account. The Geddy Lee bass is very nice, though I have seen a few reports of warped necks (though hardly an epidemic), the necks are very thin... don't expect to sound like Geddy though, it's his setup and playing style behind a lot of his tone.

Still, don't sell the Ric

Rustar

Doctor J wrote:

... don't expect to sound like Geddy though, it's his setup and playing style behind a lot of his tone.

Ya got that right. Bass is very versatile, it can be organic or metallic depending on how you play it. Picks, fingers, and thumbs all produce different sounds for a wide variety of playing styles. Always been a picker; and not too far into the slap&pop style yet, but I find I've been doing 'light slapping' lately....great sound, and I'm actually faster with it than my fingers.

Oh, and I'd keep the Ric unless you get a cash offer you can't refuse.

Maccattack

Rustar

are you talking about the Geddy Lee bass or bass in general?

do you have the Geddy Lee?

anyone seen one around town?

Doctor J

There's a 75RI with a Geddy neck on Chris' site for $699 and a full on Geddy signature on Ebay for the same price. Never saw one over here.

Rustar

Bass in general. I was dangerously close to going 'waaaay off topic' there, pulled meself back from the brink at the last second.

Ravelleman

The Geddy Lee on ebay isn't worth buying. When I checked, their shipping rates were around $250. You could pick one up from Music123 for the same price and shipping would be about $100.

If you want to hear the Geddy Lee Jazz bass, follow this link

Btw Doc, when I was doing work experience with Musician Inc in May they had a Geddy Lee Jazz Bass in the shop. It arrived with some kind of electronics issue so they never put it on display. They never got another one in. :mad:

Doctor J

I heard Geddy didn't actually let Fender look at the electronics of his one, to see why it sounded different, in case they changed it in some way :v:

How much were Musician looking for it, do you remember?

judas101

i recently bought a ric of similar year on ebay. a steal at $790 but had to pay duty of €217 squids on it! anywho i wouldnt sell it for all the tea in china.

"That's right....................All the tea"

Maccattack

That Aerodyne looks pretty cool. Know if there are any about town?

The Geddy Lee clips sound very impressive too!